The first day of the 2026 NFL Draft was an interesting one for the Los Angeles Rams as they shocked everyone by taking Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick.
Considering the Rams are in win-now mode with Matthew Stafford at quarterback, the expectation was for them to add another piece to help the 38-year-old get back to the Super Bowl.
Instead, the Rams took who they believe will be Stafford successor in Simpson. A lot of fans weren’t happy about it, and in his press conference after the first night of the draft, Rams head coach Sean McVay didn’t appear to be too happy either.
Many people took that as McVay not liking the pick and perhaps being at odds with general manager Les Snead. After Day 2 of the draft though, McVay cleared the air, explaining why he wasn’t in a good mood and making sure everyone knows he and Snead are still in lockstep, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
Friday night, McVay emphasized that “grumpy” demeanor had to do with things unrelated to the job.
McVay also emphasized that “the one thing that would never be doubted is, we (him and GM Les Snead) couldn’t be in more lockstep in every decision that we make.”
“Couldn’t be more excited about being able to add him (Ty Simpson) but also understanding of how much I love Matthew Stafford, how respectful you want to always be to just the way things can be interpreted.”
McVay said he was “excited” to be able to add Simpson, and called it a “blessing” for Simpson to be able to learn from Stafford and come into the Rams’ ecosystem.
“But whenever that time comes for him to get an opportunity to be Matthew’s successor, it will be on Matthew’s terms,” McVay said.
It’s clear that McVay wants it to be known that the Rams are still Stafford’s team for as long as he wants to play. So even if he was excited to add Simpson to the mix, he didn’t want to be over the top to upset Stafford in any way.
McVay and Snead have had a great working relationship over the last decade and are the main reasons why the Rams have had so much success. It’s good to see they are still on the same page, and Simpson will now have the opportunity to learn under Stafford for some time before being his eventual successor.
Sean McVay told Matthew Stafford about Ty Simpson pick
Before the Rams drafted Simpson, McVay revealed he reached out to Stafford to let him know so the reigning MVP was not caught off guard.